


Secret Mission: Pancakes

by shebephoebe



Series: Ben&Bea [6]
Category: Much Ado About Nothing (David T/Catherine T), Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Loving Marriage, NO ONE KNOWS, Post-Canon, do I include their head-canoned children in the characters list?, it's all fluff and nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:41:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29377248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shebephoebe/pseuds/shebephoebe
Summary: Benedick conducts an operation to make breakfast without waking Beatrice.Based on the stage production of Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant and Catherine Tate. If you haven't watched it, do so; I do not do it justice in the least. Characterizations are based on character interpretations from that production. Shout out to my writing buddy Ruby for helping further develop the characters and storyline. We have Lore.Story is set following the events of the play. Like...a long time after the play.
Relationships: Beatrice/Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing)
Series: Ben&Bea [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098035
Kudos: 6





	Secret Mission: Pancakes

Benedick was deep into his third cup of coffee before it hit him that it was almost 9:00 in the morning and none of the kids were awake yet.  
He checked the flip calendar by the toaster: Friday. Considering they always neglected to flip it for the weekends unless they had guests over and wanted to appear like they cared about such trivial concepts as time, that meant it was Monday at least.  
Somewhere at the back of his mind he recalled setting up a sub for his own classes, but an entirely different part of his brain, still locked behind a foggy wall of sleep deprivation and awaiting caffeine reinforcements, held the knowledge that he had children who were expected to attend school.  
Benedick swore.  
Rapidly and in French, because it hit better.  
Then he poured himself another cup of coffee and called the church school.  
“Hullo, who do I need to speak with to say my children won’t be in class today? Oh, excellent. Yes, this is Signor De Padova. Yes, all of my children. Well, the three in school.” He leaned against the counter and threw back a mouthful of coffee. Gulping loudly, he said, “What, I need a reason?” He rolled his eyes. “They’re sick. Well, they spent the weekend around their mother so it’s entirely possible— No, I didn’t mean it like that.”  
Benedick turned to lean his elbows on the counter and ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, all three of them. Fine, so they weren’t sick last I checked but it’s already past the start of classes and I’m in no condition to drive them. They will not be attending classes today. Tomorrow is a mystery at this point.”  
He grunted in answer to the secretary’s snippy good-bye and dropped the phone on the counter, wincing as it clattered.  
As if on cue, Beatrice let loose a racking cough that echoed from the bedroom. She’d banished him to the kitchen, saying if he didn’t go she’d strangle him. It took every ounce of willpower for him not to rush back in there and make sure she didn’t need water or medicine or a fresh ice pack or more blankets or….  
“Right,” Benedick muttered.  
He checked the fridge, then consulted a cookbook and checked again.  
“Good enough,” he decided, and went to rouse the troops.  
Tricia was easiest. She was the most competent of the children and actually kept quiet when he held a finger to his lips.  
“Secret mission,” he told her. “Get dressed.”  
She clearly wanted to ask a question but kept her lips pressed together obediently.  
“Permission to speak,” Benedick urged.  
“What about school?” she hiss-whispered.  
“This is more important. There will be no school today. Get dressed. Try not to wake Adriana.”  
Eyes wide with delight, Tricia scuttled out of bed.  
Benedick left her to pick out her outfit—like her mother, it always took her ages—and moved on to the boys.  
As it turned out, Matteo was already awake and just waiting for Alex to stir. Something had told his toddler brain that he ought to be awake and on the move by now but he didn’t have the independence yet to just...get out of bed.  
Would that baby Adriana had taken after him.  
Upon seeing his papa, Matteo sprang up with a cry and Benedick rushed to quiet him. “Mustn’t wake Mama,” he said, lifting the boy out of bed. “It’d be like stirring the kraken,” he added under his breath.  
Alex stirred at the noise. He sat up and blinked around in confusion. The fact that the sun was pouring full force through the window took him a solid ten seconds to process.  
It was almost 10:00 by the time they were all conscious and dressed. Benedick herded the older kids into the kitchen while Adriana squirmed in his arms. He plopped Adriana in a high chair, poured more coffee, and handed the cookbook to Alex.  
“Read me that recipe, if you please.”  
Alex stared at the book. “What are we doing?”  
“Making breakfast, obviously!” Benedick squinted at the clock. “Well, brunch. Tricia, get the eggs, please.”  
“What about me?” Matteo cried.  
Benedick and the other two shushed him in three-part harmony.  
“You will be lookout!” Benedick swept up the boy and settled him on his shoulders. “If Mama comes, sound the alarm.”  
“Me, me!” Adriana cried, banging on the highchair tray.  
Alex abandoned the cookbook to get her a banana, and breakfast got underway.  
Benedick didn’t have much choice to do more than supervise; if he turned away from the doorway, Matteo berated him because “I can’t see if Mama’s coming”, a protest which was more likely to rouse Mama than any other noise they were making. Tricia took over the pancakes, with Alex reading ingredients while he plied Adriana with enough snacks to keep her relatively quiet.  
Somehow Matteo got hold of a spoon and kept time on Benedick’s head while he ran through his repertoire of sea shanties. Tricia decided to add chocolate chips to the pancakes and even managed to supervise those and bacon at the same time.  
Benedick downed another cup of coffee. Somewhere in the midst of it he recalled starting a new pot of it, and he thought maybe Alex or Tricia had poured their own cup.  
They were all reminded of Matteo’s one responsibility when he broke off mid-song to let loose an ear-splitting shriek. The noise arrested all activity in the kitchen.  
A pancake slid off Tricia’s spatula and plopped on the floor. Her eyes had followed Matteo’s pointing spoon, which Benedick could just see out of the corner of his eye, toward the doorway.  
“Oh, what a wonderful lookout,” Benedick grumbled.  
Beatrice, swathed in a quilt, leaned against the doorframe with a tissue pressed to her nose. “What’s this?” she croaked.  
Alex squawked something to Tricia. Behind Benedick there was a brief scuffle and some sizzling noises, followed by a loud exhale of relief from his older daughter.  
“Uh oh,” Adriana intoned.  
Matteo rapped his spoon on Benedick’s head. “Breakfast!”  
Beatrice arched one eyebrow and smiled. “Is it now?” She shuffled into the kitchen and peered at the growing pile of food on the counter. “I thought it was a school day.”  
“Secret mission!” Tricia said. “We couldn’t do school today.”  
Beatrice turned her smile on Benedick. Even with her hair mussed and her face red with illness, even with a wadded tissue shoved up one nostril, the sight of her made him melt. Clutching Matteo’s legs to steady the boy, Benedick leaned across the counter and kissed her forehead. “Good morning, Lady Disdain.”


End file.
